2005 Annual Blow Molding Conference

October, 2005
Toledo, Ohio

The SPE Blow Molding Division’s Annual Conference, ABC 2005, was held in Toledo, Ohio. This event has become the premier industry venue for all segments of the blow molding industry from resin supplier to end-user.

Keynote speaker on day one was Bill Carteaux, President of the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) who talked about the state of the plastic industry and enthusiastically stressed the need to support of the Plastics Industry at local, state and national levels. Following Mr. Carteaux was Dr. Luis Prozena, President of the University of Akron. Dr. Prozena extolled values of active industry-university relationships in practice today to develop personnel talent and technologies. He cited many examples that illustrated the return on investment on this type of interaction. To close this high energy morning session were Chase Willets and Nick Vafiadis of CMAI. They filled the hall with numbers and facts, which clearly defined the direction and future of the PET and HDPE resin industry supply chains.

SPE International was well represented by Tim Womer, President-elect for 2006-2007, who discussed SPE goals and objectives.

The conference also featured speakers covering different aspects of packaging and industrial applications. All attendees were given the opportunity to tour a local blow molder, technology development center and recycling operation. Over 200 industry personnel, speakers and students attended the conference.

The SPE Blow Molding Division’s annual awards were presented at dinner. Student Scholarship was awarded to Matthew Loffler, Penn State Erie. The 2005 Student Design Award winners were Atanas and Pankaj Rathi, University of Akron, for their design, “Plastic Exhaust System Using 3D Blow Molding”. The SPE Blow Molding Division’s 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award winner was Dr. Saleh Jabarin, Polymer Institute, University of Toledo. Dr. Jabarin was presented to the audience by Dr. Tom Brady, PTI, who recounted their long association beginning at Dartmouth, continuing through their employment at Owens-Illinois and beyond.